DAVAO CITY (MindaNews /26 Sept)—Investors from Belgium are looking for possibilities to help Tawi-Tawi farmers export their seaweeds, according to the honorary consul of the newly-established Belgian Honorary Consulate for Mindanao.
“The Regional Development Councils of Mindanao five days ago were all there, they conducted their meeting in Tawi-Tawi. Being a seaweed capital, I remember they brought potential investors to process the seaweeds for export,” said Leonilo Claudio, the honorary consul, during the Habi at Kape at Abreeza Ayala Malls Wednesday morning.
He said that the interest of Belgium “is to be able to study, how it could be of help” to the province, emphasizing that Tawi-Tawi has been one of the least developed in the areas of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, being the farthest province in the Philippines.
The consul said that they once went to Bongao, Tawi-Tawi with the Belgian ambassador to the Philippines, Michel Parys, and they observed that the trip was peaceful. The province, he said, is promoting its many islands in terms of tourism.
As quoted by Bangsamoro Parliament, the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) stated that BARMM was the country’s primary fishery contributor in the second quarter of 2022, with a total fisheries production of 346.42 metric tons (MT), or 28.6 percent.
The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources’ Seaweed Industry Roadmap for 2022 to 2026 cited Philippine Rural Development Project’s (PRDP) data, which stated that Tawi-Tawi accounted for 62,911 hectares of seaweed farm production areas. The province also produces 375,617 metric tons of seaweeds as of 2020, contributing almost 26 percent to the country’s harvest of 1.47 million metric tons.
Meanwhile, Claudio said they are currently urging Belgian investors to look at the Davao Region’s possibility to establish a medical waste processing plant.
He said that Belgian investors must look into the economic zones of Mindanao and assess possibilities of suitable investments, such as Anflo Industrial Estate, which is owned by Damosa Land, located in Panabo City.
Claudio said he “will really have to see to it that the interest of the Philippines, especially Davao Region and Mindanao, will be marketed, will be pushed” to have more export revenue.
Belgium’s Honorary Consulate for Mindanao opened in Davao City on Sept. 19 located on the second floor of the Ecoland Medical Center along Quimpo Boulevard.
This is the 22nd honorary consulate based in Davao City, which also hosts four consulate-generals: China, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia.
Brussels in Belgium is the headquarters of the European Union. (Ian Carl Espinosa / MindaNews)
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